Doubt (2008)

This was just a fantastic human movie about life, with some of the best acting I have seen in my life.

First of all I'd like to say that it's a serious and thought provoking film, where talented actors like Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman play. The idea is to show how differently people live through the period of doubt, when they have only suspections but no evidence. The actors' play is so realistic, that while watching the film you can't but take the position of one of them, as the film goes. But only in the end we also have doubts and have to choose whom to trust, because no truth is said, the ending is open. After watching this film you feel troubled, there're so many questions and no evident answers. The atmosphere of the film coincides with the inner state of characters and viewers, it's dark, windy, oppressing. I didn't like neither the character nor the play of Amy Adams, in my opinion she's too meek, she can't choose whom to believe and her role in the story isn't very clear. In general, the film is intriguing, you need to watch it very attentively, catching all the changes of the characters' thoughts and emotions, though it's not really psychologically comfortable to watch oppressing films like this one.

A parish priest in one of the Catholic churches of the Bronx, Father Flynn reads a sermon about doubt. He is sure that every person has many doubts. Soon he will have to test his theses in practice. The parish school, where he teaches, is dominated by the stern sister of Aloysia. She is very strict and looks evil. Students are afraid of it. Suspicion is that Father Flynn, a kindhearted humanist with too long nails, is in close relationship with the only black pupil of the school, is launching his sister Aloysius to action. She is determined to drive the candle out of school. There is no direct evidence in the sister of Aloysia, but is not doubt a burden that any person who chooses an action for the glory of his ideals should bear?

Doubt is a wonderful drama film based on John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Doubt: A Parable. Set in a Bronx Catholic school in the mid 1960s, Doubt explores the conflict between Sister Aloysius Beauvier, the strict and conservative principal of the school, and Father Brendan Flynn, a priest whom Sister Aloysius accuses of having sexual relationships with the school's first black student, Donald Miller. Doubt is all about faith, judgement, suspicion, and of course, doubt. The story is mostly told through dialogue. In some of the films that I've watched dialogues could really bore me to death, but the ones in Doubt never did. On the contrary, it was the dialogues that didn't allow me to take my eyes off the screen; it was the dialogues that with every word, every sentence, every scene made the characters more convincing and put a seed of doubt into my head.It's impossible to imagine a cast that would give a more powerful performance, connect with their characters and express such a great range of emotions any better that those four did. Meryl Streep. When this name just appears on the horizon, no further words are necessary. It speaks for itself and it says, 'Where there is Meryl Streep, there is perfection and power'. Philip Seymour Hoffman is incredible. The scenes between the two of them are thrilling, their emotional fight is riveting. Amy Adams wonderfully portrays a naive and childlike adult. Viola Davis is only in one scene (as the boy's mother, Mrs Miller), but it doesn't stop her from giving a strong and touching performance. I waited for her to appear in more scenes because it wasn't enough for me but, obviously, I have to witness her incredible talent on How to Get Away with Murder.The scenery, generally dark and uninviting, matches the general mood of the film and adds to its tense and gloomy atmosphere. Even the ringing phone adds tension. But what I liked is that the story allows some breaks from the seriousness of the subject matter. When Sister James, for example, declares her love of Frosty the Snowman, you can't but smile, or when the students learn to dance, you start tapping your foot to the rhythm and for a minute forget about the main conflict. What's interesting is that not only Meryl Streep's character has doubts when the matter seems to be solved, but we are also left in doubt after watching this film. We don't know for sure why Sister Aloysius wants so desperately to get rid of Father Flynn (perhaps, she despises him for being so progressive or she just wants to protect the student), as well as we have no proof that Father Flynn is actually guilty. And this kind of an open ending allows us to think about and dwell on that, to find out if doubt is a part of our nature and what it does to us. Not many films in today's film industry give us such an opportunity, so we should thank John Patrick Shanley, the director of this amazing film, for that.Don't doubt whether you must watch this film or not. But be sure that it will leave you doubting.